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Klopp Aboard the Managerial Merry-Go-Round

2015-04-20

We’re approaching the business end of the football season, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation on new managers at a number of clubs, even though the current incumbents are still present.

Manuel Pellegrini has come under increasing scrutiny since Manchester City dropped out of the Champions League and the Premier League title race, and recently he has taken to refusing to answer the media’s questions about his future. Jurgen Klopp is set to leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, after his fantastic achievements there, and their terrible season in Germany seems to have done little to affect his stock. Pep Guardiola has ruled himself out of a move in the summer by saying he is committed to Bayern Munich, but all doesn’t seem well at Real Madrid, where Carlo Ancelotti is under pressure despite winning the Champions League just a year ago.

Further down the ladder in England, the likes of Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce might also be looking for new jobs, with Redknapp having quit at QPR in January, and Allardyce (perhaps surprisingly) apparently a ‘dead man walking’ at West Ham.

It promises to be a fascinating summer of rumours, and as ever, there are ample betting opportunities.

Jurgen Klopp Next Job

Jurgen Klopp is the man at the centre of a lot of the speculation, and his next club could have a bearing on the other top appointments in Europe. Here are the best prices for Klopp’s next job.

Jurgen Klopp is the hottest property in football management and, according to bookmakers, he will swap Dortmund for Manchester City shortly. One, however, thinks he is much more likely to end up somewhere else than Etihad Stadium.

Klopp is a football romantic and there is nothing romantic about spending millions of petrodollars as the manager of Manchester City. Sure, Manchester City is short odds to be in the market for a new coach during the European summer but, given Klopp’s eccentricity and history as a one-club man – he spent his entire playing career with Mainz and coached the 05ers for seven years before spending the same period of time in charge of Dortmund – one does not think that the impatient Citizens would be a good fit for him.

It does not make sense for Klopp to have walked away from Dortmund to accept an inferior position so one is willing to rule out him ending up anywhere except the English Premier League or the Spanish Primera Division. There are only two Spanish Primera Division jobs worth having – sorry Atletico Madrid fans but your team is heading for a fall once Diego Simeone departs – and neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid is Klopp’s kind of football club. And it is no secret that Klopp loves the English Premier League. Therefore, one thinks that Klopp will end up at a English Premier League side that has room for improvement, supporters who do not demand immediate success and a culture that is similar to the Dortmund one with which he is associated so closely. Oh, and it helps that the English Premier League team could be thinking about making a change to its management staff.

The English Premier League side that ticks all the boxes is Liverpool. Klopp is available at odds of 5.00 with 888Sport and Unibet to be Liverpool’s boss at the start of the 2015-2016 English Premier League season, while he is trading at odds of 6/17.00+6006.006.00-0.17with SkyBet to make the Reds his next port of call. Clearly, Sky Bet’s offer is better on both counts

Brendan Rodgers is the first Liverpool manager since the 1950s not to win a single piece of silverware in his first three years as Reds coach, something that growing sections of the media think will result in his sacking. Liverpool fans are split right down the middle about Rodgers, however the abysmal manner in which the Reds lost their English FA Cup semi-final versus Aston Villa did not impress even his staunchest supporters. Football is big business these days and, while it would be harsh to say that Rodgers has failed, it would be fair to say that he has not succeeded. Managers with Klopp’s credentials do not grow on trees and Liverpool would be silly not to sound out the German about the job.

That there is room for improvement at Liverpool is obvious – the Reds are long odds to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and they made not one but two tame exits from UEFA tournaments this term. And it has been so long between domestic championship drinks for Liverpool – the Reds have not won the title in the English Premier League era – that Anfield diehards are not expecting the Reds to go from zeroes to heroes in the space of one or two seasons. If Klopp succeeds Rodgers as Liverpool boss then one thinks that he would have at least three years to make a positive difference unless the Reds end up near the bottom of the English Premier League ladder, which is highly unlikely.

Klopp could be the next Rafa Benitez without being Benitez, if you catch one’s drift. Liverpool is the English Premier League club that is most like Dortmund and Klopp has a history of connecting with fans in the same way that Benitez, for whom there is genuine love among Reds supporters, struck a cord during his lengthy tenure.

Of course, money talks so Klopp could end up in charge of Manchester City and one could make a case for him suiting the set ups of Arsenal and Tottenham. But the argument for Klopp coaching Liverpool is the strongest of the lot and Sky Bet’s odds of 7.00 are over the top in one’s humble opinion.

Next Man. City Manager

If you agree that Klopp will make the move to Anfield, then there’s better odds available in this market.

However, after one too many disappointments in the Champions League, one suspects that City might be looking for a more proven manager – someone who has been there and done it at the top level – and Carlo Ancelotti is an interesting candidate.

Next Real Madrid Manager

There is always a drama at the Bernabeu, and Ancelotti has recently been blamed for Luka Modric’s injury by the Croatian team doctor. He’s had a strange relationship with the fans at Real Madrid, and despite leading them to the Champions League last year, there are still sections of the support who are unhappy with his playing style. If he fails to win either the Spanish title or the Champions League this year, Real could be tempted to make a change. The top three in the betting for the Madrid top job are:

Back in the more mundane world of Premeir League survival, two of the great characters of the English game will both potentially be unemployed in the summer. Allardyce’s contract at West Ham is up at the end of the season, and as yet there have been no signs of a renewal from the board. Redknapp walked out on QPR in January, but he will top many a shortlist among the lesser lights of the Premier League.

The One club that could be interested in either is Sunderland, who currently have Dick Advocaat in temporary charge. The rumours about Big Sam taking over at the Stadium of Light are spreading, and he’s a short price of 5/42.25+1251.251.25-0.80 with Unibet to take over at the club he represented as a player.

Redknapp lives on the South Coast and he would love an opportunity to go back to Bournemouth in the Premier League. Even speculating seems particularly harsh on Eddie Howe who has worked wonders for the Cherries, but for the opportunists among you a decent price is available with Paddy Power of 16/117.00+160016.0016.00-0.06

Finally, if Allardyce does leave Upton Park this season, the man we’re tipping to take over is former player Slaven Bilic. The West Ham board would love Jurgen Klopp, but he is likely to be out of reach, and Bilic ticks plenty of boxes. He has said he wants to manage in the Premier League, he has international experience with Croatia, and he knows the club well.

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About The Author

Eric has been sports journalist for over 20 years and has traveled the world covering the top sporting events for a number of publications. He also has a passion for betting, and uses his in-depth knowledge of the sports world to pinpoint outstanding odds and value betting opportunities.